I was walking to my car, where I planned to head to the local state park about five minutes from my house. Then out of the corner of my eye, I saw a piece of yellow in the middle of our grass. I walked over to it thinking it was trash or something. Instead, it was a single yellow flower or weed. I was not too sure what to call it.

After looking at it some more and further research online I discovered it was a Taraxacum known by most as a Dandelion. I was a bit confused because I thought Dandelions were white and circular with the little “petals” you could blow but this was just another form of the plant.

Although this plant seems very dull and tedious. I thought it represented us today. It was a single plant. Isolated from the plants in my front yard. There were no other Dandelions in my yard or even the neighbor’s yards. It was drooped over not standing tall and upright. The stem is slightly broken midway through. Even with the beautiful weather, we have had lately it is still struggling. This little Dandelion seems like it has gone through a lot like us humans lately. It has continually been beaten up and is the brink of giving up. If it can hold on just a little longer maybe it can start to thrive but the outlook is grim.

-Conner Polizzi-Gullo